Snag's Rival
by Erin T. Aardvark
Summary: Cyril's dog Snag grows jealous of a new puppy in the house
1. Bert's Surprise

Forest Sneer sat on the floor, banging pots and pans against each other. It was giving his grandfather, Cyril, an awful headache, but he tried to tune him out. Cyril was on baby-sitting duty that day. And he had to succumb to the fact that Forest loved anything that made noise. Cyril was holding his hands over his ears, trying to block out the crashing when his dog, Snag, entered the room. Forest giggled, and stopped banging the pots and pans together. He dropped them, and crawled towards Snag.

Snag looked at Forest and smiled (this is a cartoon dog, remember?) He promptly rolled over onto his back, and Forest began to rub his stomach. Immediately, Snag's hind leg began to twitch like crazy. This was the only reason Snag didn't try to devour the baby. Forest knew where his soft spot was, and because of this, Snag had obligated himself to be Forest's protector. Snag and Forest were good friends, although no one could understand it.

Even though Cyril tried to train Snag to be extremely vicious, and he often wondered why the dog was so soft hearted towards Forest, he was glad for the diversion from the pots-and-pans band. Of course, that was when Cedric and Sophia came back to the Sneer mansion.

"Hi, Pop," Cedric said. "We're home."

"I don't know how you two do it," Cyril grumbled as he got up.

"Do what?" Sophia asked.

"Sit through Forest banging his pots and pans around without losing your marbles!" Cyril shouted.

"Maybe you should invest in ear plugs, Pop," Cedric said with a shrug.

"Good idea," Cyril said. "So where have you been all afternoon, anyway?"

"Oh we were just out picking up things for the party," Sophia said, pulling paper plates and streamers out of the brown grocery bag she was holding.

"I don't know why you're making a big deal over this," Cyril said.

"Oh come on, Pop," Cedric said. "It'll be fun!"

Cyril grumbled, and left the room. He had work to do. Cedric and Sophia shook their heads. Forest crawled over to his parents, and wrapped his arms around his daddy's leg. Cedric smiled, and picked him up.

"Don't mind your grandpa, Forest," he said. "He doesn't care much for birthday parties."

Forest giggled, and clapped his hands. He was going to be a year old next week, and Cedric and Sophia were planning a birthday party for him. The Raccoons were going to help them plan the party. They came over after a little while.

"Hey, how's my little buddy?" Bert asked, taking Forest from Cedric. "Learn any new baseball techniques?"

"What are you trying to do, Bert?" Ralph asked. "Turn him into your protégé?"

"No comment," Bert replied. "You got any peanut butter in that bag?"

"Here," Sophia said, taking a jar of peanut butter out of the bag. "And, Melissa, here's the cake mix."

"This'll be some birthday cake," Melissa said. "Chocolate with peanut butter frosting."

"I take it Bert's going to help bake the cake," Cedric replied.

"Yep," Melissa said. "He's going to make the peanut butter frosting."

"Chocolate and peanut butter are a great combination," Bert said, defensively. "Besides, Forest loves peanut butter!"

That was sort of true. Forest did like peanut butter a lot, but he liked chocolate better. Especially chocolate pudding. And all this talk about chocolate and peanut butter was starting to make Forest hungry, so he began to fuss a little.

"Lunch time," Sophia said, taking Forest from Bert.

"We'll start getting things set up while you take care of the baby, Sophia," Ralph said.

"Thanks," Sophia said, as she walked over to the refrigerator to get Forest's bottle.

The others continued to unload the bags, sorting things out. Bert opened the peanut butter and took a taste out of it to make sure it was fresh.

"Save some for your peanut butter frosting, Bert," Melissa scolded.

"I will, I will!" Bert shouted. "Hey, Cedric, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure, Bert," Cedric said. "What's up?"

"It's about this birthday party. I was thinking of getting Forest something special for it. You wouldn't mind if I did that, would you?"

"What are you planning?"

"It's a surprise. A big one! I just want to know if it's okay with you if I did this big surprise present thing for Forest."

"Okay, I guess. I mean, what harm could it do?"

"Great! Thanks, Cedric!"

Bert grabbed the jar of peanut butter and practically raced out the door. Cedric stared at him as if he were crazy. He wondered just what exactly Bert was planning, but he didn't dwell into it too much. Like he said, what harm could it do?


	2. Happy Birthday

By the next week, Cedric, Sophia, and the Raccoons had everything all ready. They were all at the Sneer mansion, with Schafer, and Cyril's "henchmen," the Pigs. Everyone was gathered around the dining room table. Forest was sitting in his highchair, wondering what all the commotion was about. He was also wondering about the box that Bert was holding in his lap. Nobody else was holding any boxes, especially ones that were wrapped in pretty paper and tied with ribbons.

"Let's get on with this," Cyril grumbled. "I've got a great deal of work to do."

"Oh come on, Cyril, lighten up!" Bert shouted. "This is a party!"

"Eeehh," Cyril grumbled.

Cedric turned out the lights just then, and Sophia and Melissa came into the dining room, carrying the chocolate and peanut butter frosted birthday cake. As the girls carried it to the table, everyone (well, except Cyril) began singing.

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear Forest! Happy birthday to you!"

"And many mooooorrrrrre!" Bert warbled, slightly off key.

"Thanks, Bert," Ralph said, sarcastically. He began cleaning out his ear.

"Sorry," Bert said.

"Okay, Forest," Melissa said. "Make a wish and blow out the candle."

"How's he going to do that?" Cyril asked. "He's only a year old."

Melissa glared at Cyril, and then "helped" Forest blow out the candle on the cake. Then she began to cut it and pass around slices while Sophia began dishing out ice cream. Forest wasn't sure what was going on, but he liked all the attention he was getting!

"So when do we get to open presents?" Bert asked, keeping a tight hold on the box in his lap.

"After cake and ice cream," Ralph said. "You're acting like it's _your_ birthday, Bert."

"I'm just excited, that's all!"

"You think you're gonna blow everyone out of the water with this surprise present of yours, don't you?"

Bert said nothing. He just began digging into his piece of cake. Forest was digging into his piece, too, only with his hands. He was making a huge mess, but everyone thought it was cute. Melissa and Ralph were taking pictures of the whole thing. At one point, Snag wandered into the dining room, and took his usual spot at the foot of Forest's highchair, in case he dropped something, or threw something. Forest noticed that Snag wasn't getting any of the cake, so he grabbed a handful of his piece, and dropped it on the floor. Snag promptly sucked it up. Forest giggled, and was about to do it again, when Cyril grabbed the baby's hand.

"Hold it there," he said. "Beat it, Snag! Get out of here! Dogs aren't supposed to eat chocolate!"

"Then how come Schafer's eating it?" Bert asked.

"He's got you there, Pop," Cedric said with a shrug.

"Well, every time that stupid mutt's around, Forest throws his food at him," Cyril said. He took a napkin and wiped the sticky chocolate-and-peanut-butter mess off Forest's hands. Then he began wiping the mess off his face, too.

"He's even messier than you were at this age, Cedric," Cyril muttered. "Did any of that cake get in your mouth, Forest, or is it all over your face and hands?"

"I'll clean him up, Pop," Cedric said, taking Forest out of the highchair. He started to carry him into the kitchen, and Forest began to fuss a little.

After Cedric cleaned Forest up, he brought the baby into the living room and set him down on the floor. Snag ran over, excitedly, ready to play with Forest. He accidentally knocked Forest off his balance, and he fell on his back onto the floor. He wasn't hurt, just a little surprised, but he didn't cry. Instead he giggled, and gave Snag a hug around the neck. Cyril grabbed Snag by the collar and pulled him back.

"That's enough of that," he said.

Forest began to whimper a little, and then he burst into tears, reaching for Snag.

"I think we'd better get the presents started," Cedric said.

"Good idea," Cyril said. He pulled one out of the stack and handed it to Cedric, who started to open it. Once the wrapping paper hit the floor, Forest grabbed it.

"How To Succeed in Business Without Playing Fair Volume Two," Cedric said, reading the title of the book that was underneath the paper. "Po-_op_!"

"What?" Cyril asked. "You never know what the future's going to bring. Kids seem to grow up overnight these days! I want Forest to be prepared to take over the industry!"

Everyone groaned. The Pigs came forward then with their gift.

"Here you go, Forest," Floyd said. He unwrapped the present for Forest. It was a piggy bank, designed to look like the Pigs. Forest just stared at it, not really sure what to make of it.

"Good gift for a baby," Bert said, sarcastically. "What the heck is he gonna do with a piggy bank?"

"Save his money, of course!" Lloyd shouted.

Everyone groaned once more. One by one, everyone gave their presents to Forest. Melissa had bought him a teddy bear. Schafer had given him a rubber ducky to play with during his bath time. Ralph had gotten Forest a toy fire engine, complete with a working siren and flashing lights. Forest loved it. Cyril glared at Ralph, and began thinking of a way to sneak into Forest's room and take the batteries out of that thing.

"Okay, Bert, your turn," Ralph said. "Let's see that surprise gift of yours."

"Oh no," Bert said. "I want to save the best for last. Let's see what Mom and Dad got Forest."

Cedric and Sophia had to leave the room to get their present to Forest. They returned a few moments later, carrying in a rocking horse. It was white with black mane and tail, gray spots, and it had a red saddle and bridle painted onto it. The rockers and the handles were painted red as well.

"Hey, ride 'em cowboy!" Bert shouted.

Ralph laughed, and put Forest onto the horse. Then he got Forest going on it. Forest squealed in delight. He loved it!

"All he needs is a cowboy hat and an outlaw to chase through the old west," Melissa said with a laugh.

"Okay, Bert, you've stalled long enough," Ralph said. "Let's see this surprise gift of yours."

"Okay, okay," Bert said. "Get him off Trigger there, and I'll give him my present."

Cedric took Forest off the rocking horse, and put him down on the floor. Bert set his box on the ground. The minute he took his hands off of it, the box moved. It also started squeaking. Forest was a little surprised. So surprised, he started backing away from the box, whimpering. Suddenly, the lid popped off the box, and a small, brown and white puppy jumped out of it. He ran to Forest and began licking his face. Forest squealed and giggled.

"A puppy?!" Cyril shouted. "You got him a puppy?!"

"Happy birthday, Forest!" Bert shouted.

"Oh, isn't he sweet?" Sophia asked.

"He's a cute little guy," Schafer said.

Everyone began gushing over how cute the little puppy was. Well, everyone except Cyril.

"I don't intend to be the one who takes care of him," he said. "You're in charge of the mutt until Forest is old enough to take care of it himself, Sofa Girl!"

Everyone seemed to ignore Cyril, as he left the room. He'd had enough of Forest's party.

Cyril wasn't the only one who wasn't thrilled about the puppy. Snag wasn't too happy about this new arrival, either. Forest seemed to like him a lot, so he couldn't go over and actually devour the little dog. So he just laid in the corner of the room, glaring at the puppy and growling at it. He would soon show that little mutt who was top dog in the Sneer mansion.


	3. Spot's First Night

After the puppy was revealed, Forest began to play, but not with his new toys. He was playing with the wrapping paper and the ribbons. He was more interested in those than with his toys. The puppy seemed to like the wrapping paper as well. He barked, and began jumping all around it. Forest squealed with delight, and clapped his hands.

"Okay, cowboy," Ralph said, picking up the baby. "Let's go for a ride while your mom and dad clean the place up."

Ralph put Forest on his new rocking horse, and got him going on that. Once his attention was diverted, the others got to work cleaning up. The puppy wandered into the kitchen, trying to get a feel for his new surroundings. Snag went with him. The puppy sniffed around, and then jumped up onto the table to investigate the leftover chocolate-and-peanut-butter cake. It smelled good enough to eat. The puppy began licking at the plate it was sitting on, and ended up nudging it closer and closer to the edge of the table. Snag saw the cake tipping, and was about to run out of the room as fast as he could before the cake fell, but it did, and it hit Snag right in the head.

SPLAT!

The puppy jumped down from the table, and sat next to Snag. He also knocked the plate off the table when he jumped.

CRASH!

Even though, the cake had hit Snag in the head, he _did_ have to admit, the cake did taste good. Unfortunately, the noise the plate made when it crashed, brought everyone into the dining room. They saw the mess and groaned.

"Oh Snag," Cedric sighed.

"So much for taking the leftover cake home," Bert grumbled.

"What happened?" Cyril asked, coming into the dining room. "Snag, what in blazes are you doing!"

"Looks to me like he was trying to sneak a taste at the cake," Ralph said.

Cyril grumbled, and pulled what was left of the cake off Snag's head, and plopped it right into Bert's hands.

"Not much we can do with it now," he said.

"Gee, thanks," Bert said, sarcastically. He walked into the kitchen, over to the trash can, and dumped the cake into it.

"Just couldn't resist, could you?" Cyril asked Snag. "I swear, you are the world's most troublesome dog!"

Cyril stormed back to his office. Snag glanced over at the puppy and growled at him. The puppy just scratched his ear, and ran after the others who were leaving the dining room.

"Sorry about Snag," Cedric said. "I don't know what gets into him sometimes."

"He hasn't been the same since the baby was born," Boyd said with a shrug. Then he and the other two Pigs walked off to their own quarters.

"We'd better get going," Ralph said. "See you later. Bye, Forest. Happy birthday."

"Happy birthday, Forest," Melissa said, stroking Forest's ears. "See you later."

"See ya later, alligator," Bert said to Forest. "Happy B-day, little buddy."

And with that, the Raccoons left. Schafer said his goodbyes, and left as well. Cedric and Sophia then took Forest upstairs to get him ready for bed. Snag and the puppy followed. Cedric had taken an old box from the basement, and put a blanket into it. The puppy jumped into it, and started to make himself comfortable. Snag growled. He didn't like the fact that the puppy got his own bed, especially since he had taken up sleeping in Forest's room.

"So what are we going to name the puppy?" Cedric asked.

"How about Spot?" Sophia asked. "He's got the cutest little white spot on his forehead!"

Although it wasn't a very original name, Cedric agreed to the name Spot. It seemed to suit the puppy. In any case, Sophia put Forest into his crib, gave him his bottle, kissed him goodnight, and turned on his mobile.

"Night-night, sweetie," she said.

"Goodnight, Forest," Cedric said, tussling Forest's hair.

Cedric dimmed the lights, and he and Sophia left. The room. Snag made himself comfortable underneath Forest's crib, and went to sleep himself. He usually slept in Cyril's bedroom, but since Forest was born, he had been going back and forth between his master's room, and the baby's. Tonight, he was going to sleep in Forest's room, just to show Spot that he was the boss dog in the Sneer mansion. It wasn't until midnight that disaster struck.

Spot woke up, and began sniffing around the room. He investigated everything from the furniture to the toys scattered around the room. Snag woke up as well, and watched the puppy like a hawk, making sure he didn't cause any trouble. Spot went over to Forest's toy box, and began to investigate it. He unearthed a stuffed toy aardvark that Melissa had made especially for Forest awhile back. It was one of Forest's favorite toys, and Snag knew it. Spot pulled it out of the box, and began shaking it around. Snag got up, and grabbed the toy's leg in his mouth, trying to pull it away from Spot. Spot thought it was a tug of war. The two dogs pulled on the stuffed aardvark for awhile until it split and both dogs stumbled backwards. Stuffing was flying everywhere. Snag growled at Spot, and started to chase him around the room. Spot dove into the crib, as if that were the safe haven. Snag growled, and managed to squeeze throug h the bars of the crib to get at Spot. Unfortunately, when Snag had jumped into the crib, Forest woke up, and began wailing. He didn't like these rude awakenings. He yelled so loudly, that Spot jumped through the bars, and back to his little box.

Forest's screaming brought Cyril, Cedric, and Sophia into the room. Cedric turned on the light and found the room bombarded by bits of stuffing, the two pieces of Forest's aardvark toy, and Snag sitting in the crib.

"Snag, what in blazes are you doing!" Cyril shouted. He stormed over, grabbed Snag by the neck, pulled him out of the crib, and promptly dropped him on the ground.

"Look at this mess!" Sophia shouted. "I think Snag needs to go to obedience school."

Cedric didn't say anything. He just lifted Forest out of the crib, and tried to get him to calm down and go back to sleep. Usually when Forest woke up in the middle of the night, Cedric and Sophia would have a heck of a time getting him to go back to sleep.

"Maybe Snag shouldn't hang around in here anymore," Cedric said.

"You just get Forest to quiet down," Cyril said. "I need my beauty sleep!"

And with that, Cyril left the room. Snag followed him, giving a growl to Spot.


	4. Snag the Hero

Morning rolled around. Cedric and Sophia looked a little tired, but that was only because it took them two hours to get Forest back to sleep. Cyril got the worst of it, only because of Snag. Snag had a habit of howling at the full moon, but he also howled when Forest started crying. They were a regular duet!

"Boy, the three of you look terrible!" Lloyd shouted as Cyril, Cedric, and Sophia came into the kitchen for breakfast.

"Shut up!" Cyril shouted. "And feed the dogs!"

"Yes sir!" Lloyd shouted. He began to dig around the cabinets looking for the dog food.

"What a night," Cedric groaned, digging the applesauce out of the refrigerator. He spooned some of it into a bowl, and put it on the tray of Forest's highchair.

Things started to get a little quiet around. Sophia was busy performing "surgery" on Forest's stuffed aardvark. Cyril was checking the stock market in the paper, and Cedric was feeding Forest. After awhile, Floyd and Boyd ran into the room.

"Sir," Floyd said. "There's a phone call for you."

"That had better not be Internal Revenue," Cyril grumbled. "I've got enough problems!"

Cyril got up and stormed out of the room. Sophia stood up as well.

"I need to get some more stuffing for this," she said.

"There should be some left on the floor of Forest's room," Cedric said. "I'll help you look for it."

Cedric stood up, and gave Forest a bottle to keep him occupied until he got back. Then he and Sophia left. The Pigs left the room as well, to see what the phone call Cyril got was about. Snag was about to leave as well, but stopped at the highchair. He thought he'd stick around and keep an eye on Forest. Forest looked down at Snag and giggled. He took a spoonful of applesauce and dropped it on the floor. Snag licked it up right away.

While Forest was giving Snag a free handout, Spot wandered over to Snag's dish. He had already finished his own breakfast, and was still hungry. Spot figured since Snag was eating applesauce for breakfast, then he wouldn't mind.

Apparently, Spot didn't know Snag too well. Snag happened to glance over, and he saw Spot eating out of his bowl. This got him mad. He began to growl, bark, and then chase Spot around the kitchen. Spot yipped in panic, and raced around the kitchen, with Snag hot on his tail. Spot dove underneath the highchair, and staid there, shaking. Snag ran for the puppy, and tried to get under the highchair himself, but he was too big. He ended up knocking it over, and Forest as well.

CRASH!

Forest let out an extremely loud wail once he hit the floor, louder than anyone had ever heard him before! Spot ran out the dog door as fast as he could. Snag growled after him, but didn't follow. Instead, he walked over to Forest, trying to see if he was okay.

The crash had attracted everyone's attention. Cyril, Cedric, Sophia, and the Pigs ran in to see what had happened. Sophia gasped, and ran directly to Forest.

"My baby!" she cried, as she gently pulled Forest out of the highchair. Forest's wails died down a little, and soon, they were reduced to hiccups.

"What in blazes!" Cyril shouted. "Snag! You stupid mutt! I've had it with you! You've been causing too much trouble around here! Cedric! Open the door!"

Cedric opened the back door, like his father instructed. The minute it was open, Cyril punted Snag like a football, and he sailed into the backyard. Spot ran in as Snag practically flew out.

"And stay out!" Cyril shouted, slamming the door shut.

Snag whimpered a little. He didn't think this was fair. It was that darn Spot causing all the trouble, not him! Why wasn't he being punished?

For the next few days, Snag was on the outside looking in. The Pigs were given the job to feed him, which caused them to fear for their lives. Snag was still a vicious dog towards certain people, the Pigs just being three of them. But for awhile, Snag didn't look ready to tear them to bacon bits. This was because he was depressed and he missed Forest.

Forest missed Snag, too. Every time he didn't think his parents were looking, he would sneak out the dog door and go play with Snag. But someone would always catch him, and bring him back into the house. After the kitchen incident, Cedric and Sophia didn't trust Snag around the baby anymore. Every time one of them would come out to the backyard and take Forest back inside, he'd cry. But the cries stopped when Spot came in, and Forest played with him for awhile. Spot was a good substitute, but he just wasn't Snag.

One day, the Pigs were busy taking some time to themselves. Cyril didn't need them to do any of his dirty work (yet), and they were relaxing. And practically using up all the power at the Sneer mansion. They had a ton of electric devices in their quarters, and they often left them all running non stop. Of course, that meant the electric bills at the Sneer mansion were usually through the roof. The Pigs never really came right out and talked about the bills, either.

"Aren't you worried that the power might be shut off again?" Floyd asked his brothers.

"Relax!" Boyd shouted, plugging in the blender into the already overloaded outlet. "We paid the electric bill already!"

"But what about all these outlets?" Floyd asked. "They could be a fire hazard!"

"You worry too much," Lloyd said, relaxing in the light of his tanning bed.

Floyd shrugged, and went over to his electric reclining massage chair. He needed to relax a little himself.

As they were relaxing, Cedric, Forest, and Spot went downstairs. Cedric had been working on a super computer, and he was almost done with it. He was going to test it by playing some computer games on it with Forest. Spot just came along for the heck of it. Forest wasn't too excited at the prospect of computer games. He wanted to go out and play with Snag, but Cedric wasn't going to let him.

"I know you want to go and play with Snag, Forest," he said. "But after what happened the other day, I don't trust him."

Cedric set Forest down on the floor, and began searching around for the "on" button to his computer. Spot barked, and began to wander away. Forest giggled, and followed him. Cedric was too busy looking for the power source to the computer to notice.

Spot and Forest both ended up attracted to a bright light coming from the Pigs' room. Just as they reached the room, the door open, and Boyd walked out.

"I don't see why I have to get the snacks all the time," he grumbled.

"Because you're the youngest!" Lloyd and Floyd shouted.

"Hurry up with the popcorn!" Lloyd shouted. "You're missing a great football game!"

"And don't forget the root beer!" Floyd added.

Boyd grumbled, and started towards the kitchen. Forest and Spot went into the room to investigate things. Forest had been in the Pig's room before, but he never really noticed all the bright lights there. Spot was more interested in the overloaded outlet. He sniffed at it, and began chewing on it, growling, trying to yank it out of the wall. Sparks flew, but Spot didn't seem to notice. Forest just giggled as the sparks flew. Lloyd and Floyd didn't notice, either. They were too engrossed in the football game.

Cedric, in the meantime, had found the on button on his computer, but to his surprise, it didn't turn on! He went to investigate, and found that his computer wasn't even plugged in! He picked up the plug, and stuck it into the outlet, but it was all the wiring could take. The minute he plugged in his computer, all the lights in the house flickered. Spot got the shock of his life as well. He immediately dropped the plugs he was chewing on, and ran, yipping all the way. He ran straight into Boyd on the way out.

"Whoooaaaa!" Boyd shouted, trying to keep his balance. He ended up falling flat on his stomach, which caused popcorn and root beer to fly all over the place. And the root beer ended up hitting the overloaded outlet, causing it to short out, and a fire to break out.

"Uh oh," he said.

"Let's get out of here!" Lloyd shouted.

The three Pigs screamed, and ran out of their quarters as fast as they could. Forest sensed their panic, and followed, but he wasn't as fast as they were. Cedric ran over to the Pigs quarters to see what was going on, only to find that it was going up in flames, and the rest of the house would follow if someone didn't get the fire department!

"Pop!" Cedric shouted, racing up the stairs. "Hey Pop!"

"What is it, Cedric?" Cyril asked. "I'm busy here!"

"Fire, fire, fire, fire!" the Pigs shouted, running around in circles.

"WHAT!" Cyril shouted. "You stupid swine! You overloaded the circuits again with all that junk of yours, didn't you!"

"What's going on down here?" Sophia asked, coming down from the second floor.

"There's a fire in the basement," Cedric said. "We've got to get out of here and call the fire department before it spreads too far!"

Cyril, Cedric, and Sophia ran out the back door as fast as they could. The Pigs followed. Spot was already outside, hiding under the bushes. Snag looked at everyone, wondering what was going on. Then he sensed something was wrong. Really wrong. He began barking, and running for the house, but Cyril grabbed onto the chain that was attached to his collar before he could get anywhere.

"Oh no you don't," he said. "The last thing I need is a barbequed dog and the ASPCA on my back!"

"Did everyone get out okay, boss?" Lloyd asked.

"How should I know!" Cyril yelled. "Just call the fire department NOW! Before that fire spreads and reaches the vault!"

"Is that all you can think about a time like this!" Sophia shouted.

"Hey, boss?" Boyd asked, timidly. "Uhh, where's the baby?"

Cedric, Sophia, and Cyril all looked at each other, and panic spread across their faces.

"THE BABY!" they shrieked in perfect unison.

"We forgot about Forest!" Cedric shouted.

Snag couldn't take it any longer. In a burst of speed, he ran for the dog door, pulling his chain leash from Cyril's hand.

"Snag!" Cyril shouted. "Come back here, you crazy dog!"

Snag didn't listen. He squeezed through the dog door, and began sniffing around the kitchen, which was starting to get pretty smoky. Cedric and the Pigs had left the basement door open, and the smoke and flames from the fire were heading upstairs. Snag continued to sniff around until he heard a tiny cough coming from the stairway to the basement. He ran over, and saw Forest, trying to crawl up the stairs. He was coughing and crying all at the same time. Snag ran over, and grabbed the collar of Forest's shirt, and then dragged him across the kitchen floor, and through the dog door in the kitchen. Then he stopped, and barked, giving Cedric, Cyril, and Sophia a signal to come over, which they did.

"Forest!" Sophia shouted, scooping her baby into her arms. Forest coughed a little, and let out an extremely loud wail. It was music to everyone's ears.

"I never thought I'd be happy to hear him scream," Cyril said.

The fire department arrived moments later and began to put out the fire before it could spread any farther than it had. The basement of the Sneer mansion was completely ruined, which included the Pigs quarters, and Cedric's super computer. Cedric didn't really care about his computer.

"What started the fire, anyway?" he asked.

"A lot of things," one of the firefighters said. "There were too many plugs in one of the outlets, and it looked like an animal of some kind was chewing on the chord."

"An animal?" Cyril asked. Then he looked at Snag. "Why you . . . ."

"Wait a minute, Pop," Cedric said. "Snag was outside all day. He couldn't have been the one to chew on those wires!"

"Then who . . . . ." Cyril started.

A tiny bark interrupted things. Everyone turned around and looked at Spot. They had found the culprit.

"Looks like the puppy's been the cause of everything around here," Cedric said.

"We can't keep both dogs," Sophia said. "It'll be too much trouble. We'll have to choose which one."

Forest eagerly reached for Snag. Sophia laughed, and put him down on the ground. Snag raced for him, and nearly tackled him. Forest giggled, and wrapped his arms around Snag's neck. It was settled then and there. No argument about it.

Cedric brought Spot back to Bert and explained what was going on.

"He's too much trouble, Bert," he said. "It was a nice idea, but we just don't have the patients for two dogs."

"Well, I'll find something to do with him," Bert said. "Maybe I'll give him to Ralph's Aunt Gertie. She might like a companion."

Cedric nodded, and left. That night, when Cedric and Sophia put Forest to bed, Snag jumped into the crib. Forest giggled, and hugged his friend.

"Okay Snag," Cedric said. "You can sleep there, but just for tonight."

Snag settled himself into the crib. Sophia turned on Forest's mobile, and Cedric dimmed the light. Then the two of them left. Before Forest went off to dreamland, he snuggled against Snag. He was better than any teddy bear Forest ever had.

The End


End file.
